Although we may still experience a brief winter setback or two — spring has sprung, and nothing reveals spring more than a garden — literally and metaphorically. Now’s the perfect time to prepare our yards and gardens for the growing season. Here are some suggestions from two local gardening experts on several tasks to tackle for a good growing season as we head back to the garden.

Prune

“One of the main things to do early on is proper pruning,” said Robert Siebenthaler of The Siebenthaler Company. “Get everything cleaned up and start fresh for the new year. Prune the dead growth on trees and shrubs — you don’t want them to start out with bad growth; get a manageable base. Keep the best and get rid of the worst. Do this now because if you do it too late, you can injure them.”

Special care is required for flowering plants and shrubs that bloom, he explained. “If you didn’t prune them in the fall, prune them in the spring after their first bloom. You will want to prune most trees before they bud in spring.”

Clean out remaining vegetation

Siebenthaler said “Get rid of any dead material that didn’t get cleaned out in the fall. Any fungus and spores that are in the dead material can re-infect troubled plants if you don’t get it out of there. Now is the best time to cut back dead growth on your plants and shrubs, such as roses, for example.”

Fertilize

“Fertilization is one of the biggest things,” Siebenthaler said. “Adding key nutrients to your plants makes the biggest difference now for their upcoming growth period. Using slow-release is important; quick- release fertilizer can injure plants.”

Edge

“Using a shovel, make a trench to define a border of your lawns and landscaping beds,” he said. “It keeps them from competing with weeds and with each other. This also gives a nice finishing touch to the area.”

Mulch

“Mulch is not only pleasing to the eye, but it plays a valuable role in conserving moisture and keeping weeds at bay. If you already have mulch down, you don’t necessarily have to put down all new mulch every year, but fluff it up and give it a light dusting of new.”

Get inspired

Finally, he said, “if you need some inspiration or motivation, visit a local garden center. You’ll see many signs of life.”

Siebenthaler, a certified arborist with a business degree, represents the sixth generation of Siebenthalers in the family business, which was founded in 1870. The Siebenthaler Company has two garden centers — the Centerville Garden Center at 6000 Far Hills Ave., and the Beavercreek Garden Center at 2074 Beaver Valley Road. The original Siebenthaler’s Garden Center on Catalpa Drive at Siebenthaler Avenue in Dayton now houses the business and landscaping offices. For more information, visit www.siebenthaler.com .

Mitch George, owner of the Village Greenery in King’s Yard in Yellow Springs, offers some similar suggestions for spring garden prep. George, like Siebenthaler, is also big on getting a clean start for the garden. Here’s how he starts his spring growth season.

Retrieve plant pots

If you store bulbs and perennials, “take your old containers out of storage and put them outside,” he said. “We’re now past the hard freeze. The warming and cooling of the days is okay now. But if it does fall below 25 degrees at night, just cover them with cloth or plastic or bring them inside. Or you can wait until mid-April to be sure.”

Deadhead

“Clean beds and cut off and remove last year’s growth. With ornamental grasses, lilies and perennials with dead stalks, cut off the tops. Cut them back to the green.”

Weed

“Define your bed edges and start weeding now,” George said. “Start early and stay caught up. It’s much easier to do when the soil is soft and wet.”

Amend soil

“Do early soil amendments. Begin tilling and turning over soil. Add nitrogen compost and worm castings (worm waste). These are the best ingredients for soil now. Azaleas and rhododendrons need their own specific, acidic food, and bulbs need their own specific, phosphorus/nitrogen food.”

Seed

“If you want to grow some plants from seed, you can start to plant seeds now in a warm place: inside in a window box, under a light in the basement or in a cold frame or greenhouse,” George said. “You can start them outside the last week of April.”

Mitch George describes his Village Greenery as “a boutique-style shop for plant enthusiasts.” George also recently started another business that will be called Yellow Springs Botanicals. A natural outgrowth of the Village Greenery, Yellow Springs Botanicals will be located on U.S. 68 North, just outside Yellow Springs at the former site of Stutzman’s Nursery and Garden Center. The new space will enable George to both sell — and grow — several varieties of indoor and outdoor plants and to specialize in rare and hard-to-find plants and plant materials. He hopes to open it in “late spring or early summer,” he said.

To learn more about the Village Greenery and the future Yellow Springs Botanicals, visit George’s shop at King’s Yard, 220 Xenia Ave. in Yellow Springs, or his website at www.myplantman.com.

Christine Klinger is a freelance writer and photographer living in Dayton. She can be reached at christineklinger@earthlink.net.